Citigroup Upgrades Carvana (NYSE:CVNA) to Buy

Citigroup upgraded shares of Carvana (NYSE:CVNA) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. They currently have $277.00 target price on the stock, up from their prior target price of $195.00.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on CVNA. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Carvana from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Carvana from $300.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Carvana from $230.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Carvana from $160.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $330.00 price objective on shares of Carvana in a report on Tuesday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $241.94.

Carvana Stock Performance

Shares of CVNA stock opened at $193.40 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $234.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $182.79. The company has a current ratio of 3.25, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 18.99. Carvana has a 52 week low of $40.21 and a 52 week high of $268.34. The company has a market cap of $40.16 billion, a PE ratio of 19,359.36 and a beta of 3.38.

Carvana (NYSE:CVNA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $3.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.47 billion. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.23 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Carvana will post 0.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Daniel J. Gill sold 41,163 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.11, for a total value of $8,237,127.93. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 283,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,688,561.57. This trade represents a 12.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Ernest C. Garcia II sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.47, for a total value of $19,047,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 38,258,131 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,287,026,211.57. The trade was a 0.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 951,908 shares of company stock valued at $199,569,285. 17.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its holdings in Carvana by 5.7% in the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 4,976 shares of the company’s stock valued at $641,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Carvana by 45.4% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 27,117 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,490,000 after buying an additional 8,467 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC grew its position in Carvana by 738.7% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 780 shares of the company’s stock worth $100,000 after buying an additional 687 shares in the last quarter. ClariVest Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Carvana during the second quarter worth about $1,189,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Carvana by 2.6% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 9,365 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,205,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares during the period. 56.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Carvana

Carvana Co, together with its subsidiaries, operates an e-commerce platform for buying and selling used cars in the United States. Its platform allows customers to research and identify a vehicle; inspect it using company's 360-degree vehicle imaging technology; obtain financing and warranty coverage; purchase the vehicle; and schedule delivery or pick-up from their desktop or mobile devices.